REMEMBERING D-DAY

With gratitude and deep respect

Some stories need to be remembered, told and told often year after year, passed on to our children like a torch they will one day pass on to theirs. What happened on June 6, 1944, was one of the greatest examples of collective heroism in the history of the world. 130,000 Allied troops - primarily from the United States, the UK, and Canada - landed on the beaches of Normandy to make the assault that would mark the liberation of France and the beginning of the end of Hitler’s Third Reich. Tens of thousands of those men would not survive.

Any time you read about the D-Day invasion, there is some new element that fascinates. Planned over a period of two years, the level of coordination, secrecy, and pure military genius involved was something no fighting force ever matched before or since. Years ago I visited Normandy, and the impact of being at the site - actually seeing the Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches - was something I will never forget. I only got to spend a couple of hours at one of the extraordinary museums there, but it’s one of my goals to go back and spend at least a day or two absorbing more. I don’t know anyone who has visited Normandy and not been emotionally overwhelmed.

That day- after years of fighting Hitler on land, sea, and air for almost five years - the Allies were finally ready to invade the Western Front. The invasion began with airborne assaults shortly after midnight on June 6th, followed by amphibious landings at 6:30AM. The average age of the soldiers who participated was 22 years old. Given the intense fortifications of land mines, metal tripods, and barbed wire on the beach, plus heavy German gunfire that would greet their arrival, one can only imagine the scenes of bravery and horror. I’ve read that the opening of the film Saving Private Ryan supposedly gives a realistic depiction.

General Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander in charge of Operation Neptune, knew that no matter what happened - whether the Allies succeeded or failed - he was sending thousands of young men to their death that day. And World War 2 was not a war of choice or a military misadventure; it was a civilization-defining battle between freedom and fascism. One man was set on destroying the world, and millions rose up to stop him.

It was Eisenhower who listened to daily meteorological reports and made the final decision, “Okay, let’s go.” The unknowns were many and the stakes immeasurable. If the skies were too dark at the time of the invasion, there wouldn’t be enough light for the landing. If there wasn’t enough cover of darkness, the landing craft would be seen from too far away and the Germans would have more time to respond. Hitler was convinced that the invasion would be at Calais, not Normany, and it was important to act before he could figure out otherwise.

Finally, in one of the most astonishing historical twists of fate, German Field Marshal Edwin Rommel, whose job it was to oversee the Nazi army’s coastal defenses, had returned to Germany on June 5th for a quick visit to see his wife on her birthday! He traveled 500 miles to personally deliver to her a pair of grey suede shoes he had found in Paris, having been assured that the rough seas at the time would make an invasion over the next couple of days impossible. While he made it back to France by the night of June 6th, Rommel’s absence during the first hours of the invasion was a blessing for the Allies and a devastating blow to the ability of the German panzers to respond adequately to the initial assault. By the time he returned, the Allies had largely secured the Normandy beaches.

Eisenhower was famous for walking around talking to his men on the night before a battle. He’d say, “Scared, soldier?”to which the response of course would be, “Yes, Sir.” Ike would say, “You just gotta keep moving. That’s the thing. Just keep moving.” I remember from my visit to Normandy, where you can actually still see barges in the water, that there is a ghostly feeling there very hard to explain. You close your eyes and can almost see what happened on what is now a tranquil beach and was then such a scene of carnage. Starting then and for over the next twelve weeks, thousands of lives were sacrificed so fascists would not take over the world.

President Roosevelt was at the White House when a call came through at 3:00AM on June 6th from the Army Chief of Staff General George Marshal, reporting to him that the landings had begun. Roosevelt is said to have remained on the phone throughout the day, Eleanor with him, trying to get whatever news he could from military headquarters in Southern England. That night, the President spoke to the nation on the radio…

My fellow Americans: Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.

And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:

Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.

Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.

They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.

They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest-until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men’s souls will be shaken with the violences of war.

For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and good will among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.

Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.

And for us at home - fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas - whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them - help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.

Many people have urged that I call the Nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.

Give us strength, too - strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces.

And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.

And, O Lord, give us Faith. Give us Faith in Thee; Faith in our sons; Faith in each other; Faith in our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.

With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogancies. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister Nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.

Thy will be done, Almighty God.

Amen.

Eisenhower, meanwhile, drafted an unsent memo on June 5, 1944, planning to send it to Roosevelt if the invasion failed. It opened with these words, “Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops,” and ended with, “If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.”

Fortunately, Eisenhower never had to send that memo. He crumpled up the document once it was clear it wouldn’t be needed, but it was found and saved for posterity by his military secretary. Hitler was supposedly excited when he learned that the invasion had begun, so certain was he of German success. But he was wrong, of course. From that day forward Hitler’s days were numbered. On the anniversary of D-Day. we remember those whose names we know, and those whose names we will never know, who fought and died to make sure of it. They died, so we could live.